Different
by Angelsong2001
Summary: "Call me a freak if you want, it's not like I haven't heard it before." (Note: not actually said in the fanfic, it's just here because it sounds cool and sorta applies... kinda.) A one-shot based on the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon world. Rated K-plus because I'm paranoid. I might make this into an actual story instead of just a one-shot if enough people like it…


**Different**

Paws thumped behind him, close on his tail.

The umbreon was breathing heavily, it felt as if he'd been running for forever, and, really, he had.

When his parents found out he was different, they rejected and disowned him.

When the leaders found out he wasn't the same as the others, they kicked him out of the tribe.

And when he had tried to follow his dream of becoming part of a rescue team, one look at him and the answer was always "No."

And it was all because of those rings. All because of those stupid rings that make an umbreon an umbreon.

They were "supposed" to be yellow. His were red. They were "supposed" to glow brightly only under the full moon. His would do so only under the new moon.

The only friend he'd ever had since evolving had been himself.

Since most pokemon wouldn't trust him if he tried to buy something from them (not that he had any money, no one would hire him), he had had to resort to thievery to survive. He became known as Akai Kage – the Red Shadow.

He was painfully aware of how much he stuck out in the darkness as he ran, how easy of a target he was to follow. He would never outrun them; houndoom and houndour were known for their stamina, and could just as well be called the wolf pokemon as the dark pokemon. But he continued running, running as if his life depended on it, which in a way, it did.

If he was caught he would never be let out of prison; he had, after all, killed a pokemon once. It had been in self-defense of course, some punk charmeleon had gotten it in his head to catch the akai kage, and kill him, after his father's shop had been robbed. The thing had used flare blitz and done high damage to itself as well as the thief, who returned fire with frustration – and landed a critical hit.

It is obviously clear what happened after that. He hadn't meant to injure it that badly; he hadn't counted on frustration being that strong.

But the townspokemon didn't know that.

They only knew that one of them had been murdered, and that it was his fault. And so he ran.

The police were almost caught up to him now; they would catch him any minute.

The umbreon skidded to a stop.

Enough. Enough hiding, enough running away.

He sat down.

As he was waiting for them to catch up to him, to capture him, he thought of the old days when he was an eevee, blissfully unaware of the horrible future in store for him.

The hounds surrounded him.

As they glared at him, fire curling around their sharp teeth, he couldn't help but notice the slight golden glint shining from the head plate of one of the houndour. Silver paint was starting to become see-through from the heat, revealing the unusual golden metal.

He smiled, sadly. Another misfit, just trying to live a normal life.

"Akai kage, the red shadow." The leading houndoom spoke, a grim expression on its face. "You have been charged with murder, will you deny it?"

The umbreon was about to say that he would accept all charges when there was a sudden flash of light from a nearby bush.

The hounds, as well as the umbreon, flinched at the strange brightness in the dark night.

An espeon was standing beside him now, he thought, but it was hard to tell, as he suddenly felt incredibly dizzy. He was vaguely aware of some sort of mist wrapping around him, and of a voice speaking to the hounds.

"-you are about to attack?! My son and I are merely trying to go home and we are suddenly surrounded by the police and being charged with murder! What is the meaning of this!?" it asked, sounding very confused and angry indeed.

"W-we're sorry ma'am; we must have mistaken you for someone else! We were chasing an umbreon with bright red rings, have you seen him?" the commander questioned.

"Well I never! You mistook _me_ for an umbreon? And a red ringed one at that! In answer to your question, no, I _haven't_ seen any red umbreons this evening, nor ever in my whole life! Umbreon with red rings, ha!"

"Ma'am, we're very sorry to have bothered you and your son, but believe me, there _is_ an umbreon with red rings out there somewhere, and he's very dangerous. If you see him, I'd be very thankful if you'd report to us." The commander warned.

"I'll be sure to. Now, if you'll kindly let us be on our way…" the espeon said, still sounding agitated.

"Of course. Have a good evening." The chief said, leading his pack away.

No sooner than they were out of sight did the espeon drop to the ground in exhaustion, leaving the umbreon confused at what exactly had happened.

Upon closer examination, he discovered that she was younger than he had originally thought by her voice, and that the gem on her forehead was blue, instead of the normal red. Her eyes snapped open, showing them, at least, to be the common purple.

"Why did you help me? What did you do to them? Why did you call me your son?" he asked, bombarding her with questions.

She ignored him and shook out her pelt. "That was harder than usual. I thought they'd never go away!" she cried, revealing her voice to be different than before.

She then looked at him, "I used confusion on them. It made it easier to fool them into thinking that we weren't who we are. As for why I called you my son, no, it's not because I'm _actually_ your mom, it's 'cause you looked like an eevee from confusion and it was the first thing I thought of."

"Oh. I didn't think you were my mother anyway, she was a vaporeon." He spoke, still staring at her unusual gem.

"So why did you save me?"

"Because you're like me. A misfit. An outcast. Someone who's been rejected by everyone just because of who they are. I was in your paws once, so I know how it feels." She said. "Then Outcast found me and took me in."

"Outcast?"

"Yeah. A bunch of pokes just like us who have been, well, cast out. Come with me. I can show you." she offered.

The umbreon knew that this was more than just an offer to meet this espeon's family.

It was an offer into a new life.

He thought for a moment; but only a moment.

"Lead the way."

She smiled and starting walking, signaling for him to follow. As they breached a hill, they stopped a moment to watch the sun rise.

"So, what's your name?" the espeon asked.

He thought for a moment. _My name? The only thing I've been called since I evolved has been akai kage…_ "Aka. Just Aka." He said.

"Nice to meet you Aka. My name's Umi. Now come on, we're almost there!"

XxXxXxXxX

**So, what do you think? (I'm putting my authors note at the end here cause I know that most people skip the ones at the beginning...) Like it? Hate it? Want me to continue Aka's adventures? Oh yeah, before I forget, Aka and Umi mean "Red" and "Ocean", respectively, in Japanese. And, as mentioned in story, Akai Kage means the red shadow. Well, actually, it just means red shadow since there is apparently no such word as "the" in Japanese, but whatever. Anyway, read and review, 'cause seriously, reviews motivate me to write more. Flames are not appreciated, constructive criticism is, and if you notice and grammar or spelling mistakes, please tell me and I'll try to fix them. See you next time! **


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